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Autumn

This morning I slept in a little and rolled out of bed around 6:30. I came out to the kitchen and made my coffee, thinking it was earlier than it was, simply by the fact that it was still pretty much pitch black outside. The mornings are peaking later and later this time of year. Summer’s over, the fall is here, and as much as nobody wants to be reminded, winter is just around the corner.

With Autumn comes many changes, some welcomed and some not so much. Depending on the person some changes may fall under the welcomed and unwelcomed change category at the same time! The days are beginning to get shorter which means less day light, hunting season to some extent has begun, fishing season is almost over (except for ice fishermen), daylight savings time will soon remind us to fall back and we all gain an hour of sleep (something most people like, I actually prefer losing the hour of sleep in the spring!), leaves are beginning to change colors on the trees and in some places of the world (like our beautiful U.P., they’re already falling), the long hot summer days are no longer long nor hot, the evening air seems to have more of a crispiness to it, and so many more changes.

I’ve been working on replacing the shingles our roof the last couple weeks. Now first thing you need to know is that I have no idea how to replace a roof. We had two estimates come in and the cheap one was still close to ten grand! Being unemployed and not having deep pockets, we recruited my father-in-law to help and teach us how. It was much cheaper, we’re almost done with the part that needs to be done and it’s going to come out at less than a grand when we’re done. Anyways, as we were roofing, the hotness of the day was thankfully blocked by the trees on our lot and it didn’t begin to get hot on the roof until about 2:00. We would break at 2:00 because of the heat, and by 4:00 it was cool enough to go back up and finish the part of the day we were on. That wouldn’t happen in July or August! Not only are the evenings and mornings cooler, the hot part of the day is much shorter.

Like the seasons which are ever changing, life too seems to bring constant change. We change jobs, get married, graduate high school, go to college, have kids, become grandparents, get ourselves in over our head in debt, get out of debt, are healthy, become ill, and so much more- though probably not in that particular order. Change is inevitable. Just like we experience seasons in our climate, we experience seasons in our life. And, like the changes of climate and things around us summer, spring, winter and autumn bring, some of our life changes are welcomed and received warmly, some come in like a storm and we wish them away, despite being inevitable. Change is in fact inevitable. It can’t be stopped. It may be able to be delayed or postponed at times, but it can’t be kept from coming. Or like Westley says on The Princess Bride, “death cannot stop true love, all is can do it delay it a little while.” We cannot stop change.

Romans 12:2 tells us to “not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” To be transformed is to be changed. Allow Christ to renew your mind today and be transformed into a new person. It may be a subtle change that’s needed, our a big life altering change. Either way, spend time with God and allow Him to transform and change you today.